Until Life Does Us Part
by allismine
Summary: -AR- Justice is the culprit who set up the dominoes, curiosity is what made them topple. An NPA criminalist and an alliterative serial murderer meddle and make all canon break loose. LxOC. FFFX co-writes. Chapter VI: The replica and the duplicate.
1. Closure

-

Chapter One: Closure

**Disclaimer:** _"Death Note", and all canon characters and characteristics remain the property and rights of Ohba Tsugumi and Obata Takeshi. All I own is the writing itself, and any original features and / or attributes portrayed within said writing, including the original characters. Elements adapted from original manga, chapter zero, and Nisioisin's light novel._

**A/N:** Apologies for making the first chapter so OC-centric; I promised myself I wouldn't do that, but I couldn't think of a better way to open. iFail. But it gets much better from here! With less CSI lessons and moar non-pairing-centric levels of awesome! No, really! Reviews are highly appreciated!

I--I

"You don't need to see this."

"Why don't I?"

"You know perfectly well _why_.", he snapped, charging ahead to stay in advance of his colleague's pace. "We could have just as easily put Shuji-san on the case."

"Kitamura-san is working in two divisions at once; the poor man has his plate full enough.", she said flatly. "We shouldn't have to bother him with something this trivial."

The previous detective's irritated expression twisted into a scowl, the ill-disguised resentment he held for the woman only deepening as she did nothing but smile in response.

Takimaru Daisuke was an inexperienced but determined young man new to his division, one who tried to rise in the ranks of his department by debasing those whom he believed to be messing up their responsibilities. Kitamura Shuji, his official supervisor, was the only one he gave credence or showed any sign of respect toward, for these other arbitraries he was appointed to assist weren't worth his time.

It wasn't a secret he had a personal vendetta against this woman ever since she mysteriously started showing more eagerness in her participation: his field was no place for this investigator or her strange emotional detachments.

Finally, Takimaru spread his arms to grab a firm hold on the banisters to the either side of them, blocking the narrow steel path leading them to the crime scene.

"Why is this so important to you?", he demanded.

"Daisuke-kun, I appreciate your concern, but your empathy is getting in the way of my job."

He froze.

Empathy? Hardly.

Stupefaction was more like it.

The individual responsible for manufacturing his dissent stood a little over 147 centimeters (point thirty-eight above, to be exact) tall, and was almost always dressed in business-casual. The top half of her dark, elbow-length hair was tied back with a small red bow into a low ponytail; her shortened bangs were parted neatly, just enough to frame her face. She had a thin set of headphones wrapped around her neck even when they weren't in use, the same pair her perpetual sense of music appreciation would lead her to use whenever situations became most stressful. Her entire guise and the pseudo-amiable personality sloppily tacked onto it didn't exactly scream 'professional'.

Nonetheless, this woman was two years his senior, in both age and professional experience.

And whether or not Takimaru was willing to acknowledge it, she ranked amongst the best Japan's National Police Agency had to offer.

Glancing up at her subordinate with incredulous disappointment, she closed her eyes and walked forward, short enough to shuffle under his obstructing arm without doing much more than leaning over.

The casual indifference with which she treated the subjects of her investigation was an advantage she liked to believe she held over the other females in her division. She wasn't a cold, cruel, or otherwise unfeeling individual; she simply never saw a reason to treat her job as anything more than an important responsibility, never once considering what she had to do as gruesome, or morbid.

This attitude remained her constant variable, even when she first saw him.

The victim appeared to have fallen to the ground back-first; his lithe, defined figure sprawled out indefensibly across the cemented ground, his body striped with shadows cast by the metal bars of the jail cell.

For a short moment in time, the detective thought, this vault became a room anyone could have spent their last minutes in. For a split-second, this cell ceased to be a compassionless article of containment, and evolved into his conduit of freedom. He lost his life within these walls: these wretched, unfeeling slabs of confinement this man knew he deserved.

_How could you believe a thing like that?_

Takimaru watched carefully, his superior's impassiveness towards the situation chilling him to the core. He instinctively reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small, overused notepad as the woman in front of him crouched to the ground and slipped on a pair of disposable gloves.

She pressed her index and middle fingers against the prisoner's neck to confirm the obvious.

"No pulse. The hypostasis confirms the reports of how long he was here before he was discovered; he couldn't have been dead for more than a few hours."

_He's so...cold._

"No obvious signs of blunt force trauma or external bleeding. Whatever killed him most likely did it from the inside, but we can't confirm anything before an official examination...there might be something here we're not seeing."

_You know there isn't._

"Yet, since we're expected to propose a theory for the initial report, the circumstances of the scene lead us to conclude he died from a heart attack."

_Don't act so surprised; it was only a matter of time._

Takimaru raised his pen. "Don't you mean 'myocardial infarction', Tanaka-san?"

"Absolutely.", she said, nodding in agreement. "And as you know, we only have one person to blame for that."

"Kira."

She winked. "You know it."

Takimaru stared at her and begrudgingly took down another line, as his affiliate pushed another finger firmly against the murdered's skin.

'_When a heart stops beating, circulation ceases._', she reminded herself. '_Once livor mortis sets in, the blood within the body pools down according to gravity, forming a dark magenta discoloration visible through the skin. Due to the fact this discoloration is on the front half of his body while he's laying on his back...this means he was moved at some point after death._'

The body was moved before she arrived without her authorization.

"So...", she started, sitting back up. "A shot in the dark here, but did Kitamura-san come to a Kira-based conclusion as well?"

"What are you talking about? You're the first investigator from our division to arri--"

"Daisuke-kun, we both know you've never trusted my judgement. If you wanted to get a statement from Shuji first and compare it to mine, I don't mind at all, as long as he didn't tamper with any foreign materials that were present at the scene prior to my arrival. I can trust him that much, can't I?"

"..._he_ used the term 'myocardial infarction'."

"Of course he did.", she said, looking over the body again. "Guy wants to get technical on us and he can't even remember which side of the corpse to leave facing up."

She could basically feel the resulting glower stinging the back of her neck as she snapped her latex gloves off.

"Well, you know the routine.", she sighed loudly. "Send for a body bag and a batch of the usual forms. I'll fill out the paperwork for this one. That is, of course, if you haven't given that job to Kitamura-san as well?"

Takimaru muttered something foul under his breath before turning his heel and flipping his notepad closed.

Pretending to pay little attention, the woman took advantage of her regained solitude to make a closer search of the cadaver. Similar to those she had encountered during the Kira cases, the man looked anything but peaceful; he possessed the same mortified, pained facial cast as all the other prisoners she had examined, all those not-so-innocents she had already lost count of.

Her eyes leveled his own and her silent suspiration became shortened and irregular, as if a mysterious force had grabbed a hold of her lungs and was determined to keep her from breathing. Her heartbeat grew strong enough to muffle her hearing; her stomach gave an unfamiliar, awkward churn, and for a second she felt about ready to vomit.

For a short moment in time, this vault became a gateway which allowed the poison of reality to creep through her soul like stretches of caustic vine, forcing professional reticence to make way for sentiment in spite of her better judgement. This was the closest she'd ever let herself come to panicking.

His spirit was free and hers was in a prison.

The irony left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She leaned forward, giving a faint smile as she took a bare hand and brushed the length of victim's dark bangs away from his terrified expression.

'_Ah, Aniki. Look at the mess you've gotten yourself into this time._'

-


	2. Gravity

-

Chapter Two: Gravity

**A/N:** The quality I loved most about _Death Note: Another Note_ by Nisioisin was the personal sense of humanity he gave every character who played a part within the novel; this fanfic is only adapting the expressiveness and depth of those backstories as subplot (as if I could ever give it justice anyway, lmfao). I hope you gaiz enjoy this chapter; I had a lot of fun writing it! Which...is...probably a weird thing to say, considering its content, but...yeah! :D

I--I

"Maybe Kira got rid of her to keep her mouth shut permanently? If that's the case, it's pointless to spend any more time looking for her."

During the brief silence following Matsuda's statement, Ryuuzaki remained composed in his chair, the detective's expression as relatively unreadable as always. His near-ominous gaze remained wide and intent as he submersed himself in thought, shifting to adjust his position and settle more comfortably into the cushion of his seat.

The ordeal with Raye Penber and the rest of his badged comrades should have been indication enough, but this incident involving the man's fiancée only proved to L how much he had underestimated Kira's abilities; not his gift of the supernatural or his curse of childlike ideals, but the temerity he maintained to get rid of everyone who dared to stand in his way, and the mentality he must have possessed to succeed. Kira was no true defender of justice; he was a megalomaniacal daydreamer who had the intelligence and power to express himself in the ways he deemed appropriate.

Ryuuzaki rested his elbows on top of his knees, appearing impassive whilst he glowered ahead from behind folded arms and rubbed the top of his bare foot with the bottom of the other.

Given, he had been especially careful not to expose his feelings about the missing woman in front of the other task force members. Misora Naomi was an old associate on a long-since solved case; they needed to know nothing more. For L, it was easier to maintain professional unconcern when he mentioned the likelihood of Naomi's death _himself_, the possibility of someone else knowing a fraction of what she knew, and the abnormality of her body never being found. Hosting such an informal discussion between a team of such formal investigators felt...disrespectful to her memory.

However morally bias it might have seemed.

He outstretched an arm to reach for the chalky blocks of granules stacked on the table in front of him, topping off the seven sugar cubes in his coffee with another three for good measure.

Kira had proven time and time again to be similar to himself in many ways: the same meticulous qualities needed to plan ahead, the same immaturity involved in proving the strength of one's will for victory, and the same carefulness not to slip up or allow the opponent to catch implication of a previous blunder. The likelihood of this development being the result of their unspoken feud were slim, but a personal attack had been a convenient side-effect of Kira establishing his worthiness of his position on L's playing field: he'd taken down one of the latter's most respected former agents.

_Once is once, Kira._

An eye for an eye, indeed.

L once asked Naomi to keep her heart cold while working these kinds of investigations, the ones against these madmen who were capable of the most inhumane atrocities. For the second time in his life, L encountered difficulty in taking his own advice.

He knew now his pursuit of Kira was going to be the case of his career, and the competition of his lifetime.

"Ryuuzaki?"

"Yes, Watari?"

"There is a program regarding Kira airing on television I believe you need to see."

Ryuuzaki watched as the screen positioned at the head of the room flickered on into view.

Playing chess on thin ice against a mirror.

-

Tonight's world comprised of Takemitsu Touru's _Air_ and a 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse.

The music steadied her heart and cleared her senses, as it had always done. There was something about the perception of a deceased artist's final piece which tainted the pleasure of experiencing it, a ghostly accentuation that would have been left unnoticed if not for the knowledge of its creator's death; this subtle emphasis provided a sense of comfort to its current listener.

The steering wheel felt natural beneath her grasp, as it had always been. She'd been making monthly payments on the car since she first bought it two years ago; even now, the dark blue automobile managed to stay her single most reliable companion (it was easier to trust inanimate objects; they had less chances of lying to you).

Her passengers were an open laptop and a wireless signal connecting it to the NHN television station's front door security cameras. The Kira broadcast was still in progress, so it was wise to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity outside the building before it was confirmed secure by the officials.

It had been four months. Four months since the National Police Agency started individual cases for the FBI agents killed by Kira. Four months since the United States began sending over inquiry forms about the NPA's progress non-stop. Four months since a good night's sleep.

She was on her way home when it happened.

Her ringtone was an MIDI theme from some silly little level of a long-forgotten video game; her co-workers thought it childish, but she had her reasons for keeping it the way it was.

The voice on the other end of the line was breathless, and distraught.

_"Yoshimi! Are you watching Sakura TV right now?!"_

_"Ah, I'm actually heading home from work. I haven't had any time to watch television since that stand-off between L and Kira back in December...which is terrible, because I have no idea what's going on in my dramas any--"_

_"Kira just killed two people on national television!"_

_Screeeeeeeeeech_.

The folder filled with the FBI's paperwork from fell from the dashboard, its contents spilling out across the seats and floor of the car. Quick reaction time and a sharp left turn were used to catch the last downtown exit before it was passed completely.

Kira. The vigilante.

Murderers were murderers, and without criminals of this homicidal nature neither she nor any member of the forensic department would have a job. It was terrible to hold any level of appreciation for killers, but this 'Kira' had a nasty habit of drawing attention to himself: exactly the kind of criminal trait any aspiring detective yearned for.

Sakura TV was never the most reliable source of news (it was a tabloid network, at best), but once it was explained that Kira murdered two hosts live on the air of a separate channel and claimed it penalization for voiced cynicism, it was made obvious the message's sender was, in fact, authentic. Of course, it was no question _why_ the station had approved it for broadcast; the benefits of ratings aside, Kira would have most likely threatened the lives of the producers unless they did as he asked. If this televised statement was stopped inefficiently, the most important members of the network were all in danger of being killed.

Yoshimi's contact e-mailed her a picture of what was being displayed during the public address: the name 'Kira' blazed across the laptop screen, in the same calligraphy L used that notorious December afternoon. Kira's message consisted of an apology for killing innocent people and a dramaticisized line about 'abhorring evil' and 'defending justice'. Even moreso of a surprise, his tape became a request for _police cooperation_. Apparently, he'd made the fatal mistake of underestimating the integrity of the NPA.

'_The fool._'

With the connection to his building's security cameras prepared, Yoshimi's correspondent informed her he was being asked to work the front lines, seeing as he was the only one at his job who possessed the spirit to recklessly put his own safety second to the importance of getting to the heart of the story. Despite Yoshimi's persistent concern (not only for his well-being, but also for the possibility of media coverage only making Kira's attention-garnering successful), Kouki's mind was made up.

"_Everyone else might be cowards, but I'm not letting Kira get to my head!_"

Yoshimi knew there was no use in trying to convince her cousin otherwise.

She made another turn around the corner of an abandoned avenue, already more than familiar with these narrow, barren roads; the distance between her home and her downtown workplace encouraged her to uncover alternate routes and side-lanes for getting to work, rather than waking up early to beat the traffic.

'_If Kira really wanted the NPA's cooperation, why not send the tapes to the agency directors themselves and get them to listen?_', she found herself thinking. '_Kira is using fear to divide and conquer the minds of the public. He's doing this because he wants attention. He's doing this because he wants the world to know that he exists._'

She scoffed.

'_Some vigilante._'

The nameless man she'd seen collapse to the ground not more than three minutes ago was eventually reported to be taken away by the paramedics. By the time it was announced that an armored car had crashed into the television station, her right ankle had overpowered better judgement and she was doing 54 on a 30 kilometer-an-hour road; the speedometer was at 72 before policemen ran up to the front doors of the building and fell dead where they stood.

She reaches for her cell phone and speed dials number four. The tone hums once before it's answered.

"_What is it, Tanaka? I need to keep this line clear._"

"Kitamura-san, I apologize for bothering you, but did you dispatch those officers to the Sakura station?"

"_Of course not; they approached the scene on their own accord. They were local police patrolling the area. We didn't even realize what they'd done until they were killed._"

'_That means their names weren't broadcast over the intercom..._', thought Yoshimi. '_This doesn't make any sense; how else could they have been reached by Kira?_'

"_Shut off the television and put it out of your thoughts, Tanaka. This matter doesn't concern you. I've already given the order; this mess will be over soon._"

"The order to--"

"_The police have created a barricade!_", cried the faint audio from the computer screen. "_The roads around the Sakura television station have been sealed off! The police have shown that they will not help Kira, but instead are prepared to take an opposing stance and fight him! I...I myself am NOT afraid to say that this is RIGHT! This is the proper stance for a country with a constitutional government to take! More live updates on this story right after this short intermission! This is NHN Golden News announcer Tanaka Kouki, live from across the street of Sakura TV!_"

Overwhelmed, Yoshimi gripped the impossibly phone tighter, almost laughing in delight. "A barricade, Kitamura-san? That was--"

"_I gave the order on L's behalf._"

'_L planned this?_', she thought, paling at the idea. '_I should have expected him to have been in on it from the start...ah, that damn guy._'

"_Tanaka, if you don't have another reason for calling my office--_"

"Kitamura-san, I wanted to let you know I'm arriving at the Sakura station as we speak."

"_That won't be necessary. I'm paging Shuji to--_"

"I'm sure Shuji-san would have done a fine job, but there's no reason to waste manpower at a time like this. You don't need to misspend your efforts sending anyone else if I'm already here, Kitamura-san; you have much more important things to worry about right now."

A moment of bitter silence passed as Kitamura mentally cursed Yoshimi's inexplicable skill of being at the right places at the wrong times.

"_I'll send word for your clearance._"

"Thank you.", she responded, even though he'd already hung up.

Yoshimi clicked the phone shut, then reopened it to read the text message waiting for her.

Message Received  
04/18/00 - 18:47  
From: Tanaka Kouki  
_police dont have enough people to cover north road_

'_Ah, Kouki-kun._', she thought, smirking. '_What would I do without you?_'

Making an acceleration uphill, Yoshimi approached a line of several masked policemen outfitted in black from head to toe, all of whom raised their body shields upon sighting the advancing vehicle. One agent stepped forward from the ranks to walk towards the car itself; the driver lifted her unfolded badge and rolled down the window to face him.

"Tanaka Yoshimi; National Police Agency, Department of Forensics. I'm here to investigate the scene."

-

Giving a pensive glare out the heavily tinted glass window, Yagami Souichirou sat in the backseat of the police car, clutching his white paper bag almost possessively against himself. If Deputy Director Kitamura followed protocol and dispatched the regular agents to the scene, Souichirou knew the heads of the agency would throw a conniption about the unrecorded and unauthorized confiscation; thankfully enough, it would be a few days before anyone discovered his identity, and he'd be able to avoid the pressing staff conferences...if only for a little while.

The pain once numbed by adrenaline slowly returned in dull, insistent _thumps_ against the inside of his chest, making each passing second an increasing sharpness within his ribcage, each forced heartbeat an excruciating chore. The fact of the matter was his heart hurt him in more ways than one. The sensation he felt transcended medical explanation; it was his building conviction against Kira drilling straight into his chest.

The internal pains and prospects eventually became intolerable; Souichirou hunched over and began coughing.

"Yagami-san?", asked the driver, the voice of concern stifled by the thick mask of a plastic helmet. "Chief Yagami, are you alright?"

His power of strength growing dim from exhaustion, Souichirou temporarily redirected his vision to the rubber floor mats of the car, the priority of his grasp remaining on the bag rather than himself. He was more determined now than he'd ever been in his entire life, knowing even if he were to sacrifice sound mind and body in the process, he would personally see to it that Kira would be found and all traces of the murderer permanently removed from this world.

He would witness it firsthand before his life was over, if luck was on his side.

Catching his breath, Souichirou rested his hand on the shoulder pad of the passenger's seat in front of him, using it as leverage to help him sit up straight.

"I'm fine, thank you.", he said gruffly. "Please keep driving."

-

Several hours later, someone's voicemail is reached.

"...so please call me back when you have the time. I would really like to hear your thoughts on the matter."

Yoshimi's phone snapped closed, the lit-up numbers on its face displaying the current time as being too late to be considered night and too early to be considered morning.

The scene at the television station had died down considerably. Most of the officers had already been sent back to their respective bases, leaving nothing behind them but an atmosphere of unease and caution tape on the road blockades. The only sounds in the area were the crackles of police radio from the cars of those who remained, and the voice of Takimaru Daisuke shouting angrily at every other person he saw.

Yoshimi tuned out the yelling altogether, more worried about the man she was trying to contact than the man who was called into work on his only day off.

They left their professional partnership on good terms; beforehand, they worked together with outstanding results. Why hadn't he been returning her calls regarding something of this magnitude? He was rarely, if ever, seen present at head office anymore. His phone always seemed to be either off or dead. Even when she left messages, she hadn't yet once received the usual 'I'm busy' text format back. Was he overseas? Was something wrong? God forbid, had something happened to him?

Yoshimi slipped her cell back into the case clipped to the side of her hip, glancing aggrieved at the sky as if the fading stars had the answer she was searching for.

Where on earth could he have been?

-


	3. Viral

-

Chapter Three: Viral

**A/N:** An XBOX HUEG thanks to **Ecclaed**, **propria-persona**, and **FFFX** for their generous feedback so far, and also to those few who've had enough cautious faith to subscribe to this fic. Sorry that things in the last couple of chapters seemed kind of boring, but rest assured! Now is when the story _really_ starts to deviate from canon! 8D To clear up a couple of questions raised regarding chapter two: Tanaka Yoshimi's 'correspondent' is her biological first-cousin Tanaka Kouki, canon television reporter for Death Note's fictional news network, NHN.

So less prose, more conciseness. Your constructive indications have been duly noted, most noble audience! Don't be afraid to keep them coming, and please be sure to let me know if I've done a little better this chapter! Oh yeah, and before I forget, 'mitsukeru' means 'to detect', 'to locate', or 'to discover'. I thought it fit the character's purpose quite well, so I hope you _Another Note_ readers find it an acceptable catch phrase for him. Reasons for why he knows / is thinking in Japanese will be explained later on in the story. Enjoy!

Overused-meme insert requested by Dylan. Raito-kun was totally asking for it. (b T-T)b

I--I

Today marked the morning of April 23rd, five days since the incident at the Sakura television station. The anticipation following the confiscation of the Kira tapes reached its most recent resolve with the arrival of a second tape the previous day, one which demanded L to appear on national television in exchange for NPA head Takimura Kanichi's life. Taking this new progression into consideration, Ryuuzaki decided that the investigation necessitated the enlistment of a seventh opinion: the initial prospect turned promising candidate, Chief Souichirou's only son.

Yagami Light had made the surreptitious psychological examination seem almost effortless to pass, calmly responding to every question presented to him, producing answers and drawing conclusions rivaling the thought processes of even Ryuuzaki himself. It was this display of aptitude which made it obvious that Ryuuzaki would trust Light's abilities the most out of everyone on the task force; ironically enough, it was this same display which made the university student Ryuuzaki's prime suspect.

Regardless, the rigorous investigation continued. The task force was settled within another luxury penthouse suite, with open laptops and electrical wires strewn around the rented hotel room. Warm coffee and apple pie were offered for breakfast on the center table, yet the hard-working detectives only had time to settle for the former; their headphones were on and their eyes were glued to their computer screens, monitoring every aspect of the developing situation with inflexible alertness.

Their first order of business was to produce a fake response tape which would be broadcast later that evening over several different television stations. While waiting for the final touches on the recording to be completed, the team was instructed to peruse the mass flooding of Kira-related videos being uploaded to the internet, in search of anything which might have been authentically linked to the investigation. Most of said videos consisted of bogus personal testimonies of people believing themselves to be Kira. Another considerable amount imitated the effects of the original broadcasts and were nothing more than distorted voices dubbed over a shot of the word 'Kira' on-screen; a quick listen to the turns of phrases used within the video would debase the user's identity almost immediately.

Unfortunately, a certain member of the task force was enjoying their nonsuccess a lot more than he should have been.

"Hey, look at this one!", laughed Matsuda. "There's this guy in Canada who thinks his dog is Kira because it barks every time criminals show up on the television screen! And get this--they always die the day after!"

"Matsuda, that's the seventh useless recommendation this hour.", Aizawa said sharply. "Quit fooling around and get serious. If you don't have anything to contribute to the effort, don't contribute anything at all."

"S--sorry. Everything's so tense around here lately, it's hard for me to work well under these conditions..."

Aizawa lifted an eyebrow. "Since when do you work _well_?"

The younger detective paled.

"Matsuda, just try to focus, alright?", said Light, working on the far side of the room. "I know the chances of the second Kira releasing a video over the internet are slim, but we have no idea what he might be planning for the future, especially if he's willing to bring this callout to a public level. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Rubbing at the back of his neck, Matsuda sighed. "You're right, Light...sorry for getting distracted."

_First day here and already showing signs of leadership._

Light smirked at himself as he read what must have been streaming through everyone's mind, his subsequent thoughts then reverting to his current affair. Making a mental note of the creator's username (_silentbell2256_), he watched with boredom as the thick red line in his browser window dragged along to fill the empty bar underneath the viral video screen.

'_What is Ryuuzaki thinking; this search is pointless._', he thought skeptically. '_He knows that the internet is too much of an overpopulated and undependable source for any reliable content...which means that the reason for this isn't to find a genuine second Kira video at all. Ryuuzaki is making me wade through different viewpoints to see if anything here raises a reaction, while hiding his intentions under the appearance of it being a group project. What a juvenile plan...he can't really be expecting me to fall for this?_'

"Come across anything interesting, Light-kun?"

The student turned away from his laptop to give an expected cross-glance at his rival, ignoring the fact that everyone else in the room had stopped to listen for his response. Dark-rimmed eyes glowering back, Ryuuzaki was crouched upon his seat in his normally bizarre upright-foetal position, consciously biting at the edge of his thumb while waiting for the slightest irregularity in his youngest colleague's expression.

"Not unless you count one of these Kira videos having over nine thousand hits since yesterday as 'interesting'.", Light said, refusing to give the man the gratification. "Honestly, don't these people have anything better to do with their time?"

Satisfyingly disappointed, Ryuuzaki returned to face his computer screen. "Yagami-kun, it isn't right to judge them. Some people desire for their voices to be heard."

"Some voices really shouldn't be heard in the first place."

"It all depends on who is listening."

Suppressing the stalwart urge to scoff, Light realized his video had finished loading and exchanged his clever retort for a quieter click on the play button.

Silentbell's webcam recording took place within an office. The steady glow of a table lamp revealed a plastic plant and a set of closed, dark grey PVC Venetian blinds acting as the setting's backdrop. Seeing as his folded hands were the only parts of him not concealed in shadow, it was easy to observe that the sleeves of the man behind the desk were those of a professional business suit--an expensive one at that, assuming those over-polished dual-button cufflinks were authentic sterling.

"_Good day to you all._", the stranger began, English as his chosen language. "_My name is Jonathan Arcton, and I am here today to talk to you about Kira. In short, I believe there is no Kira. Or at least, the Kira you know is not the one in control._"

The man on screen took a dramatic pause.

"_Aliens from space have descended upon us._"

Light sighed inwardly. '_Here we go..._'

"_Scientific evidence has proven that the most common cause of natural death in humans is heart failure. The aliens have seen that, and believe using this method would prove inconspicuous to their true plans! From their home planet, the aliens use telescopes--no, no, they don't need such a stupid invention; they use their eyes, I'm sure of it--to look down upon our world! They look down and see us! Insects! Bugs! Parasites! They observe us, examining our nature, dogging our every move, thinking our lives mean nothing! AND DO YOU KNOW HOW THEY KILL?_"

Arcton's trembling fingers curled into fists.

"_NOTEBOOKS!_"

The world was suddenly frozen in time.

Of course, unbridled shock was only Light's initial reaction. The teenager's composure returned to normal a split-second later, even _as_ he realized he was backed into a silent corner for the next minute and a half of the video, even _as_ the Death God who haunted him halted its meandering flight around the room to peer curiously over his shoulder and watch along.

Arcton was losing it. He was growing breathless, his frantic voice cracking during every other word.

"_The aliens' eyes allow them to only need a human's face to kill!_", he proclaimed. "_They use those same eyes to see a person's name, then write the name down in their journals for their interstellar record-keeping! By keeping a close tally on this world, the aliens know which humans to kill off one by one, which is why they have been targeting the scum of our population to examine!_"

"Hyuk hyuk hyuk, now this is interesting...", Ryuuk chuckled, sensing his host's internalized panic. "If he said 'Shinigami' instead of 'alien', you might've been in trouble, Light."

'_If I close the window without finishing the video, it might insinuate that I have something against this man and accidentally give him credibility._', thought Light. '_On the other hand, it's hard to tell whether it's all just a coincidence or if this guy really knows about the Shinigami...if I assume too little too soon, he could reveal something that might end up sounding half plausible. Keep calm...there's nothing I can do right now but wait, at least until I'm sure about how much he really knows. By acting interested, I'll seem uninterested. No one will suspect a thing._'

"_OPEN YOUR EYES!_", Arcton bellowed, loud enough to make the microphone audio go fuzzy. "_WE ARE NOTHING MORE THAN EXPERIMENTS FOR OUR ALIEN OVERLORDS! THIS ISN'T THE WORK OF GOD, OR A NEW AGE OF JUDGEMENT! THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT THE FATE OF MANKIND, YOU FOOLS, THEY ARE USING THE WEAPONS OF FAITH AND FEAR TO CONQUER OUR SOULS ONE NAME AT A TIME!_"

Pushing pieces of apple around in small, syrupy piles on his cardboard plate, Ryuuzaki kept his vision fastened to the end of his fork, patiently biding his time before Watari returned with his daily sweets cart.

"I apologize once more for making the members of the investigation force sit through this.", he said, voice placid with partial indifference.

"Don't apologize.", Light assured. "You were right when you said that we should investigate all potential references to Kira, even the ones that seem to be less than credible. The more possibilities we strike out, the better."

"That's right.", said Aizawa. "Since there's nothing more to investigate until we receive a response to the broadcast, we might as well be doing something productive while the tape is being prepared."

"...very well. Thank you for your cooperation."

Light clicked the window shut as soon as Arcton's video finished, forwarding to a school project featuring three masked teenagers from New York conducting street interviews and reporting on the public's opinion of Kira's revolution. Bored once again, Ryuuk returned to his casual floating around the room, mumbling something about how unbelievable some humans could be, ruining perfectly good apples with pie.

Grateful Arcton's dialogue hadn't revealed anything to compromise him, Light personally hoped the video was an aimless fluke and would be the last he ever heard from the man.

Today was one of those rare occurrences when he regretted his impeccable sense of foreshadowing assuring him otherwise.

-

"_Killing innocent people to cover your tracks is unacceptable. Such actions will only create panic and destroy my reputation._"

Newspaper clippings were scattered across the desktop; twenty-seven browser tabs were open on the laptop screen. Yoshimi's lowered tone played second volume to the computerized voice airing on television, ensuring her concerns weren't overheard by those who shouldn't have been involving themselves in her research.

"...please get back to me when you have the chance."

Pausing shortly to make sure there wasn't anything she had forgotten to mention, she hung up on the voicemail.

'_There's no evidence._', she thought with bewilderment. '_I couldn't even get the tapes from the studio; the director says a 'wild-eyed officer' beat me to it. An older man with a goatee and glasses...the same description the security guard on the first floor gave about the person driving the armored car. A civilian storms in to seize the Kira tapes and no investigation is filed? There's no doubt about it--he must have been the Chief. Chief Yagami took the original tapes and the copies made for broadcasting...but the question is where he could have taken them? It's official police evidence, now; the forensic division would have been the first department they were sent to for analysis._'

Yoshimi began rearranging the article snippets chronologically and bunching them together with rubber bands. Shuji had probably already arrived at Sakura TV, but to at least ensure that these new tapes were in her department's possession, Yoshimi wanted to arrive in person and see Kimura's smug grin of satisfaction for herself.

'_Kira's plan is to get to L._', she recounted. '_Would the NPA--no, would the ICPO really choose Director Takimura's life over L's? Was this what Kira was counting on?_'

_Knock knock_.

"Come in."

Creaking the door open, an older woman wearing a light green housecoat and stark-white apron entered the forensic analyst's bedroom. Her short, dark hair was tied up into a tightened bun, whilst her telltale posture curved slightly forwards in spite of her will. The doctor had warned her that on bad days, the compromised strength of her lumbar would necessitate the use of a cane, yet the woman wouldn't hear of it; contrary to her degenerating skeletal health, her pride was something which refused to bend with age.

"Yoshimi, will you be home for dinner tonight?", she asked.

"I don't think so.", Yoshimi said heavily. "I'm heading into the city, I'll just pick something up on the way."

"The Agency building is so far from home...why don't you save yourself some trouble and move into a nice apartment downtown? It will save you a lot of money on transportation."

"Okaa-san, you know how difficult it is to find an affordable place nowadays.", she responded, shoving the re-tied bundles of paper into the bottom drawer of her desk. "Besides...if I moved away from here, I would see you less than ever."

Tanaka Keiko watched her overworked daughter pack her purse, darkly amused by the fact that she put a higher priority on a portable music player and a box of throw-away gloves than she did on fixing her makeup.

"Kouki-kun called today.", she offered. "He was asking if you wanted to get together for coffee tomorrow morning. I told him Yoshimi was too busy saving the world to go to a café."

She didn't answer.

The frown etched upon the mother's aging face was apparent now. "To be honest, I thought these sleepless nights would end once you graduated University."

"Ah, work leaves no time for rest."

"Rest should be leaving time for work.", corrected Keiko. "Yoshimi, I've kept quiet up until now, but you know as well as I do that what you're doing to yourself is extremely unhealthy. You shouldn't be burying yourself in assignments just because things between you and your fiancé--"

"We've been over this before, kaa-san.", she interrupted coldly, shrugging on her business jacket. "This isn't about him; this is about keeping my job. There are a hundred other qualified criminalists in this country vying for my spot on the NPA. I have to stay on top of the Kira investigation...it's the only thing I have going for me."

"Your job is dealing with people Kira have already killed, didn't you say so yourself? Stop going above and beyond your call of duty or the stress alone will be the death of you."

Yoshimi smirked. "You mean like it was otou-san's?"

"There isn't much of a difference between you two, _no_.", she snapped back. "You turn to work to drown out your problems. Your father turned to something else."

"Ah, so that's the reason you don't let me keep alcohol in the house anymore."

The daring statement was followed with an even tenser silence. The concerned parent continued glaring down at the young woman, who had inexplicably remained at the same height since the age of fourteen. This notion wasn't restricted to literal interpretation, either; Keiko knew her efforts were meaningless, for arguing with her daughter was still the same as talking to a child.

"Promise me you'll try to get some sleep tonight."

A set of car keys jangled as they were snatched up from the hook of a coat rack.

"I'll try."

-

Nine thousand kilometers away, a man with disheveled black hair roamed the midnight streets.

Wearing a loose, long-sleeved shirt which draped shapelessly over his sickly-thin frame, he hunched over himself as his hands remained buried within jean fabric, thumbs locked around the outside of his pockets. The apartment complex was always surprisingly busy this time of day, he observed, already accustomed with the abnormal stares and flinches of disgust he received when the arbitrary strangers caught sight of him.

A quiver of nostalgia trickled down his spine. It was an eerily familiar task to discover the person who met his criteria: the right name, the right apartment number, the right solution to his equation. Luckily, the city of Los Angeles was still as densely overpopulated as he'd remembered it; it had taken less than a week's effort to find her.

A stolen glimpse revealed a mailbox number, _1416_.

Almost too convenient to be real.

The bleach-blonde twenty-something year old performed a rehearsed strut into the elevator, high-heels clacking against linoleum tile as she swung her shopping bags in a sort of counterbalance timing with her hips. Her scent carried the common Californian metropolis mixture of sex, alcohol, and bad perfume, her outwardly appearance making her seem an over-enthusiastic indulger in all three. Her choice of clothing left little to the imagination, yet for some reason she shielded her eyes behind a wide pair of tinted glasses.

Sunglasses at night. What an eccentric notability.

The woman reaches out with a manicured fingernail and presses an elevator floor button, ignoring the presence of the horribly disfigured man slouching in the far corner of her lift. Disregarding the neglect with the ease of long practice, his line of vision traces the light's path across the numbered plastic circles overhead whilst he feels the carrier begin its rise. His bright crimson eyes then flicker back to the phosphorescent name and steadily decreasing number hovering above his ill-fated's head; his heart begins racing, and it's hard to keep himself from trembling in excitement.

A small _ding_ cues his resolve.

Floor fourteen.

His stranger exits.

An unpolished chuckle accompanies the man's crooked smile as the elevator doors slide shut.

'_Mitsukeru._'

-


	4. Doubt

-

Chapter Four: Doubt

**A/N:** The support I'm receiving from my dotcomrades for this story is so freaking awesome. **FFFX** and I playing plotshot tennis over PM, **propria-persona** calling me every five seconds to kick my butt into writing gear, and a whole mess of talented artists for being kind enough to draw Tanaka for me! (Links to the art are in my profile!) Seriously, thank you guys so much!

About this chapter: Arcton is totally my hero. Long live the ECKT!

I--I

"Silence."

The plastic clacking of keyboard buttons scattered to a casual stop. A few of the investigators turned towards the front of the hotel room, only to find their soundless expectations matched with a mutual reserve. After a few moments, Matsuda ducked and reluctantly pointed upwards to call attention to himself, unsure whether or not it was his place to break the stillness.

"Um...e--excuse me?"

The recluse armchair detective who had called the team to order appeared to be constructing a miniature step pyramid out of several chocolate-striped cookies, all of which were pulled from the second rack of the sweets cart Watari dragged into the room several minutes earlier.

"We produced the response tape in an effort to invite the second Kira into revealing more details about his methods, and to increase the chances of acquiring physical evidence.", he recounted. "Yet, all we've received in return for our efforts is silence."

"Well, that much is obvious.", Aizawa grimaced, irritated by all the time they'd wasted waiting for the second Kira's reply. "Is reminding us of this somehow relevant to the case?"

"In a way, yes.", Ryuuzaki said thoughtfully. "The presence of silence means that someone or something out there is influencing it. This is a very important clue."

Souichirou shifted forward in his seat. "Are you saying the silence is being caused by Kira himself?"

"Unlikely. If the original Kira had made contact with the second Kira, he would not be so quick to abandon interest in Sakura television, and would most likely have figured out a way to turn the situation towards his favor. Even if Kira has already managed to kill his copycat, it would necessitate the production of a final tape, regardless of what the message may be."

"What do you think we should do?"

"Before we created the response tapes, I took preemptive measures to set the stage for a backup strategy, to be used if only our situation should resort to it...", he mumbled, setting another makeshift stone into place. "Yet, seeing as he is the only one in this room who has not yet voiced his opinion, I would like to hear Yagami-kun's thoughts on the matter before we continue."

Light didn't move his eyes from his computer.

"It's been seven days since our false broadcast and criminals are still being killed.", he recited dully, as if he'd been expecting the question. "If we don't hear from the second Kira by tonight, we'll have no choice but to try our hand at making contact again. Hopefully, we can discover who or _what_ is responsible for this weird standstill in the meantime."

Without warning, Ryuuzaki grabbed onto the desk edge and rolled his chair straight into Light's, bumping armrests while he craned over to monitor the student's screen.

"Interesting...why is Yagami-kun still involving himself with the video search when we specifically agreed to cease the task force's virtual investigation three and half days ago?"

If Light was the slightest bit aggravated, he hid it extraordinarily well.

"Sorry if I seem preoccupied, Ryuuzaki.", he smiled. "I didn't mean for this to interfere with the investigation, but there's no telling how maintaining a grasp on civic opinion could contribute to our efforts later on in the case. It couldn't hurt to keep up with what the public has to say about Kira."

"Light-kun has never taken an interest in public opinion before.", Ryuuzaki replied candidly, tone lined with a sharp edge of suspicion that didn't easily go unnoticed. "What is it about this American speculator that has changed Light-kun's mind?"

"It should be brought to your attention that Jonathan Arcton has acquired a following."

"...I see."

And so it was true. The English-tongued radical had developed a growing audience during the past idle week; those who followed him called themselves the ECKT, or the 'Esteemed Coalition of Kiraspiracy Theorists', labeling themselves the 'solution' to the pro-Kira Kingdom which had erupted over time. Under the inspiration of their new ringleader, they took their purpose as seriously as their moral opposition and organized themselves with considerable speed and efficiency, having already hosted three public protests by the time Arcton released his next video.

The glaring shine from the plastic leaves of the background fern was almost mocking in its reflection; the familiar fingers were still entwined within each other, still resting upon his office desktop as he continued narrating his new theoretical speech.

"_It would be easy to use the telescopic eyes to watch over humans, but it would be even easier to observe while watching us up close and in-person. By possessing someone on the inside. By possessing a human. Esteemed followers, I have reason to believe that the aliens have made contact with Earth. The first batch of Kira-related deaths occurred in Japan's Kanto area, which means that the aliens have already made direct contact with the Japanese. It is difficult to tell where they went from there, since deaths began spreading all over the world since then, but whoever was the first may still be operating under the influence of the aliens. Whoever the first was is guaranteed to be a person living in the Kanto region of Japan._"

"Ka--Kanto region?", interrupted Matsuda. "How would he know something like that if he wasn't even here when it happened?!?"

"It's true the broadcast between Kira and I took place within the Kanto region.", Ryuuzaki explained in a low mutter, brushing his feet together in boredom. "Since then, I expect word of our interaction has spread in more ways than one, through word-of-mouth and virtual sources alike. My suspicion of Kira residing within the Kanto region is common knowledge by now. Arcton-san is just jumping to accurate conclusions."

"_The human brain becomes less and less vulnerable to alien influence as the host ages. The Kanto resident is definitely at or under the age of eighteen._"

"...that, on the other hand, was a very lucky guess."

Light tensed his hands unnoticeably, gritting his teeth together while the video which dared to compromise his methods of deduction stared him straight in the face.

'_Throughout all the security blocks set up on his system, his IP address clears out as being from the United States, but there's no name or location revealed on the computer at all!_', he thought. '_It could only mean one thing: he was planning for this. He knew Kira would be watching. Still...where is he getting this information?_'

"_Fellow believers, I promise you I will narrow down the list of sus--_"

All the screens in the room suddenly flickered to whiteness, blank save for a calligraphic black 'W' stamped onto the center; Watari's voice came from the main set of speakers attached to Ryuuzaki's computer.

"_Sorry to interrupt, but I have just received word that Mogi-san has in his possession what he believes to be a response from the Second Kira._"

Ignoring the collective gasps of shock (along with the sounds of a certain detective stumbling over himself in surprise), Ryuuzaki began nipping at his thumbnail, staring wide-eyed at his computer with anticipation.

"Send us the file."

The letter 'W' was immediately replaced with the more-than-familiar 'Kira' logo in scrawled handwriting.

"_Thank you for replying, Kira-san! I'm really, really sorry Kira-san didn't agree with what I did to get Kira-san's attention, but I couldn't think of a better way to prove to Kira-san that I was real! I have to pick up a couple of things at the east Twin Tower and take several notes at Aoyama Reien's Tateyama branch, but if Kira-san agrees to meet with me at the Spiral Café on May seventh at around noon, it'll be perfect! You know how to find me!_"

The room fell silent after the last traces of the voice faded from the air.

Light sighed. "That long-winded mention of his social calendar is more than a coincidence. It's obvious the second Kira is really serious about meeting with the first."

"I agree.", said Ryuuzaki. "Yet, as daft as he's presenting himself to be, the chances of the second Kira being stupid enough to show up in person at the Spiral Café are less than three percent; therefore, we should take all locations mentioned into consideration. He mentioned 'a couple' and 'several'...we will need police surveillance on Aoyama Twin Tower East on the second and at Aoyama Municipal Cemetery on the seventh."

"One problem, Ryuuzaki.", said Aizawa. "Even if the second Kira _didn't_ plan ahead for this, the public response this will bring, broadcasting a date and location for the meeting...it's likely any interaction between the two Kiras will be lost in the shuffle."

"Wait--what do you mean?"

"Think about it, Matsuda. If we broadcast this, all of Japan will be told that the first and second Kira are meeting at the Spiral Café on the seventh."

"The country will be under the impression the meeting time and place are real.", Souichirou said heavily. "It will cause a public panic."

"And with groups like Kira's Kingdom and the ECKT growing in numbers, we might need the police support for crowd control alone.", finished Aizawa.

"Hm..."

"Do you have a suggestion, Yagami-kun?"

"As a matter of fact...", he started, swirling his chair to face the detective. "Ryuuzaki, I agree that mentioning a specific time and place is nothing but a diversion, and that we should investigate all the locations mentioned. Surveillance of the East Tower shouldn't be a problem, since it's set at a different date. Aoyama Reien, on the other hand, was given a mention of a certain branch. While the police are covering the Spiral Café, we could save manpower by sending a smaller, more concentrated group to the cemetery to keep a lookout on the Tateyama section alone."

"Are you volunteering to be a part of the group, Light-kun?"

"Actually, I was hoping to stay here and review the Spiral Café security tapes during that time."

'_As if you honestly expect me to believe that..._', thought Ryuuzaki. '_Assuming you haven't yet come into contact with the second Kira, we have no way of predicting how the second will react to your presence. However, if you stay behind, the chances of us gaining any intelligence on the second Kira at all will drop dramatically; as Kira, you know this. Is the second Kira so much of a threat to you that you won't dare to risk your own exposure? What is the second Kira capable of that you aren't? If Light is Kira and Kira needs to be a part of the group watching the Spiral Café tapes, he wouldn't make his intentions so obvious. Unless...is it possible that the first and second Kira are able to interact without making physical contact?_'

"Those who aren't staying to look over the security tapes should be a part of the group going to Aoyama Reien.", Light said. "It's highly probable that it is the real location of where the second Kira will show up."

The room then shifted its attention to its leading detective.

"...I agree with Yagami-kun. We will make the proper surveillance arrangements at once."

-

"Cemeteries, mass murders, copycat serial killers...this is turning out to be such a gloomy investigation."

Aizawa threw a skeptical glare at Matsuda as they entered the elevator. The younger detective didn't seem to notice as he sighed and hit the button for the basement parking level.

The two NPA agents, along with Souichirou, had agreed to comprise the group being sent out to inspect the cemetery on the seventh of May. Although Aizawa was more than eager to stop sitting around and start being an active part of the case, he couldn't help but feel as if this entire process was rather arbitrary; if this stakeout investigation didn't turn up some significant results, he was planning to speak up about it next time he got a chance.

Quickly realizing he hadn't checked his messages all day, Aizawa pulled the cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open, holding down the power button until the light blinked on and the welcome melody played. Immediately, alerts popped up in a neat little window on the screen.

"Seven new voicemail messages?!"

"_Would you quit shouting in my ear_?!"

"S--sorry!", Matsuda laughed, rubbing his head anxiously. "I just meant that you should really see who they're from, Aizawa-san. It could be important."

"We've been busy with the Kira investigation; I haven't had the time to listen to them yet.", he said, pushing the keys to his numeric password and pressing the phone to his ear. "I know they all came from the same number. It isn't the office or home, so I didn't..."

Aizawa trailed off, alternating between listening to the early contents of each message and fast-forwarding to the next.

Eventually, the elevator bell rang and the doors opened to reveal the parking garage. Matsuda stepped out, only to realize Aizawa wasn't following him.

"Aizawa-san?", he asked, turning around. "Is something wrong?"

"...I forgot my wallet back at the hotel room."

"Hey, don't worry about it, I forget things all the time.", Matsuda laughed. "You're okay going back by yourself?"

"I'll be fine.", he said flatly, reaching out to press Ryuuzaki's floor number three or four times.

"Alright, Aizawa-san. See you tomorrow morning!"

Matsuda managed to get a wave in before the closing elevator doors shielded his superior from view.

-

It would be a lie to say Ryuuzaki wasn't curious.

For someone like Aizawa to take the time to return to the hotel room long after everyone else had left meant whatever he thought Ryuuzaki 'needed to hear' was important. What new information could have possibly been so imperative as to compel Aizawa to go through the trouble of coming back?

Aizawa was annoyed Ryuuzaki didn't have even the decency to turn his damn chair around while he was being addressed, but as with many situations before, Aizawa chose to skirt his objection for the sake of progress.

"I'll make this quick.", he frowned. "When I was the assistant executive officer of the NPA forensics department, I was assigned an understudy for a short period of time. It was my job to mentor her and monitor her progress when she entered the force three years ago. This same person has started calling me and leaving messages on my phone. Since she only uses this number for work-related issues, I ignored them at first, but I listened to them in the elevator, and...well."

Fixing it to speaker-phone, Aizawa set his cell phone on the table and pressed a button, activating the automated service voice.

**April 19th, 2:42am:** "_Good morning, Aizawa-san! It's Tanaka Yoshimi from forensics calling. I...know you probably don't want to be bothered about this right now--I can only imagine how busy you are with all those case files they dumped on you--but whoever was responsible for the Sakura TV incident didn't leave a single trace of evidence behind. I did a background check on the names of the three people who were murdered here tonight, and they're virtually unrelated. There's no way Kira could have done this without planning ahead, which made me realize he might not have even been anywhere near the area when it happened. He could have known Ukita-san from earlier and taken care of him when the time came...the only explanation I can come up with is that Kira recognized those two police members just by seeing them, and that's not even possible unless he's a member of the police himself. I really don't know what to do, Aizawa-san...I'm sorry, I know you told me not to act rash, but I jumped the opportunity to take the case and everyone's counting on me for an explanation...so please call me back when you have the time. I would really like to hear your thoughts on the matter._"

**April 19th, 5:36am:** "_Good morning, Aizawa-san! I know it's not my place, but I'm aware that you and Ukita-san were close friends. Do you know if he talked to or told you about meeting anyone unfamiliar within the past few days? It'll help us a lot if we can narrow down the list of suspects. I know I probably sounded crazy accusing a police member of being Kira, so that's why you're probably not talking to me; please understand, I didn't mean to sound bold._"

**April 22nd, 2:17am:** "_Morning, Aizawa-san. Chief Yagami wasn't killed at the Sakura TV station, but Ukita-san and those two officers were...why? Was it the same reason L wasn't killed back in December? Was the incident with Lind Taylor really that important of a clue? Kira needs either a name or face to kill...but considering the Sakura TV incident, and the fact he didn't even ask for L's real name in that broadcast, it seems like he only needs a face to kill. But how? Please get back to me when you have the chance._"

**April 23rd, 4:23am:** "_Aizawa-san, I spent all night yesterday reviewing the material I collected from the scenes of the cardiac arrest victims I covered, and...sure, they died of heart attacks, but it seems strange that Kira would suddenly change his pattern and kill innocent people who were getting in the way of his asking the police to become his ally. There's no way he'd trust the police even if they agreed to it, and even if this was just all to get rid of L, why in the world would he risk getting discovered trying to do that? The interaction between L and Kira was a one-time occurrence last year; why didn't Kira make his move sooner? Why take his time killing these criminals if he truly believed L was that much of a threat from the start? It's either Kira wasn't the one who made those tapes and killed those last four people, or he somehow knows that L is getting way too close to comfort. Either this person is a Kira-emulating impostor, or is Kira, who is also a police member involved in the Kira investigation. Aizawa-san...I don't want what's happened to Ukita-san to happen to you. You know you're one amongst the bigger names in the NPA, so I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this, but...be careful who you trust, okay? I'll talk to you soon._"

**April 24th, 9:13pm:** "_Do you think this tape was really sent in by the actual Kira? Kouki said it was approved for broadcast by the police on his station...you don't think it was a ploy to lure them both out at once, do you? Or maybe it was the real Kira...sure sounds like something he'd say. But why would he sink to this level?_"

**April 24th, 12:22am:** "_Yeah, police have already taken the tapes back. Still wondering why the forensic department hasn't gotten their hands on any of them, haha. Not even Shuji-san knows what's going on. Is the National Police Agency still involved in this? Either way...Aizawa-san, apparently you can't be bothered right now. I promise not to call anymore. Sorry to have wasted your time._"

'_4:23am on April 23rd...',_ Ryuuzaki thought, immobile hands hovering over his keyboard. _'That's nearly nineteen hours before our false tape was released. She drew those conclusions entirely on her own._'

"So?", pressed Aizawa. "What do you think?"

"It's true that we should accept all the help we can get while we still can...but tagging new investigators on at such a fragile point in the case is still a risk."

"If it'll help your decision...", Aizawa started. "You should know she's single-handedly dealt with over ninety percent of all recorded Kira cases. Even now, I can see she's one of the best in the department, but she's young and inexperienced; therefore, no one pays attention. She's been taking every case she can get her hands on to build her experience and gain recognition."

'_Ninety percent? That's quite impressive for a single person. It's no wonder she's able to see the pattern here._' "When Yagami-san asked for volunteers, only a handful of you stayed. Why didn't she?"

"The National Police Agency doesn't need to weigh down every officer with every duty associated with a single case, unlike smaller Japanese police forces. Members of our forensic department aren't involved in official business past the point of evidence retrieval and lab work; I'm currently heading the forensic department, so I'm the main channel between the proceedings and forensics itself."

"And I assume she's taken your place as head of the forensic department during your absence?"

"No, the job was given to Kitamura Shuji."

"Kitamura Shuji?", repeated Ryuuzaki. "As in Assistant Director Kitamura Koreyoshi's..."

"Nephew, yes."

'_I see, the classic corporation rivalry between an associate with skill and an associate with relatives in high places. There's no doubt she'd be willing to help us; cases like this are what these ambitious types live for...but would she be useful? We can't risk a liability, not now..._' "I'm not sure. Unlike everyone else here, she hasn't proven her loyalty is worth being trusted. That is...unless Aizawa-san agrees to help her prove her worth."

"Me?", Aizawa questioned, sounding incredulous. "Why me?"

"Aizawa-san could have just as easily deleted these messages, whereas no one would have ever known about them. The fact that you did not proves that you think Tanaka-san's interaction can be integral to this case."

Ryuuzaki finally gains the decency to turn around and face his addresser.

"She trusts you.", he says simply. "We could use that to our advantage."

The proposal makes Aizawa feel strange.

He was going to be used as an accessory to manipulation. If he refused now, Ryuuzaki would probably interpret it as him stating that his understudy couldn't be trusted.

But could she be trusted?

Ide, Aizawa's closest comrade, had always hated Tanaka. Of course, he disliked anyone who dared to be an intimate part of an investigation yet insisted on maintaining an innate detachment (the reason why he was against joining forces with L), but he considered the levels Tanaka took her indifference to be irrevocably despicable. Ide respected Aizawa for the ability to balance professionalism and personal judgement during the forensic stages of a case; Tanaka treated victims as if they were tokens being collected for the grand prize of success. Tanaka's reaction, or lack thereof, towards her own brother's unnatural death drove Ide's opinion of her down to a permanent low.

Tanaka once confided in Aizawa that Ide's opinion of her made her question her integrity, and her belief that complete detachment was the only way she could survive in the forensic field. When a man showed empathy for the dead, it was considered 'possessing a strong sense of humanity'. When a woman did the same, it was considered 'being emotional'. It was a workplace double-standard Tanaka compensated for by not showing any concern at all.

Ide said the woman had no excuse for fearing being considered emotional.

Ide and Tanaka were Aizawa's two finest colleagues in the NPA, in spite of the fact the advantage of time and familiarity made him value the former's association more. From the moment Ide turned his back on the task force, Aizawa started to feel as if he was the only member who hadn't yet substituted his rationalist integrity for blind faith, seeing as everyone else on the task force trusted Ryuuzaki so undeviatingly. Recruiting someone to fight for his side would be refreshing.

It's the only thing that made him agree to go along with this.

-

The wind brought a soft rain of Sakura tree petals through the walkways of the cemetery.

At least, that's what it looked like from the live monochrome feed of Souichirou, Aizawa, and Matsuda's collar-cams.

Light could feel Ryuuzaki's occasional glance burning into the side of his neck, yet it was of no consequence. He knew Ryuuzaki still suspected him; acting out the contrary of what was expected of him was the most effective way of dispelling those suspicions, or at the very least, annoying the living hell out of the one who suspected him. Besides, it wasn't as if Light wasn't acting in his own best interest. Even if who Ryuuk was haunting went unnoticed, Light had no way of knowing if the Shinigami eyes somehow implied that the human they were observing owned a Death Note. The second Kira hadn't yet revealed anything terribly compromising, therefore it didn't demand Light's interference. There was no reason to risk his life going out of his way to find someone who so desperately wanted to be found. As long as the second Kira continued with his subtle hints, Light would be able to uncover the identity of the impostor quietly, and rid of him in the same manner.

"_Excuse me, sir! Would you like to see my book?_"

Light nearly sprained his neck at the speed with which he whipped around to face the Aoyama Reien surveillance screen.

Then again, maybe not.

-


	5. Surprise

-

Chapter Five: Surprise

**A/N:** Must learn to stop failing at updating. x-x

I--I

It was annoying, not being able to hear anything over the sound of your own heartbeat.

Of course Light was anxious. It wasn't as if he could _keep_ his meticulous mind from preemptively analyzing the possibilities. This complete stranger, this colorless woman from the monochromatic feed of his father's hidden camera, this once-possible-now-confirmed suspect of the Kira investigation, had just offered up an unidentified notebook for the entire world to see. Unfortunately, Light was too wise to believe in coincidences; with a single move, this stupid girl could have potentially compromised everything he had worked for.

"Better not hope that's what you think it is, Light, or else you'll be in a whole other world of trouble..."

_Shut up, Ryuuk._

On the outside, Light was as calm as his well-tamed composure would allow. He looked on as his father examined what was being offered to him, watching the camera pan downwards to reveal a small, spiral-bound journal which read _Manifesto_ on the cover.

"_I am a representative of the Esteemed Coalition of Kiraspiracy Theorists._", he heard the stranger say cheerfully. The tasseled bookmark between the pages shook as she raised the book higher. "_What I have here is our complete list of written guidelines for conduct, first edition. Would you be interested in previewing a copy? We'll have our main prints in by next month._"

Light had not felt this relieved since...well, a very long time ago.

As Souichirou politely tried to escape the solicitor's pitch, a second camera revealed Aizawa turning away and pressing the communications piece to his ear. "_Ryuuzaki, I don't think I need to tell you what's going on here. Please advise._"

Unhesitant, Ryuuzaki reached a slim finger forward and pushed down on the intercom button with as little effort as humanly possible. "Take her in."

"_A--are...are you certain?_"

"I am not one to take these matters lightly, Aizawa-san.", Ryuuzaki said, much firmer than before. "Please take the woman who approached you into immediate custody."

Stray passerbys begin to crowd around and watch the scene with fascinated curiosity; Light says nothing as the group from the NPA immediately blindfolds the strange woman and places her under arrest.

"Yagami-kun has been awfully quiet about the current situation." Ryuuzaki hadn't looked away from his screen.

"I have nothing to say.", said Light. "Your precautions were absolutely necessary. It's more than suspicious that an ECKT member just so _happens_ to be spreading pamphlets in this particular branch of this particular cemetery; if that doesn't shout 'I'm relevant to this investigation', I don't know what would."

"On another note, if she were a true supporter of the Theorists, she would be wearing the traditional facial covering required by any member to prevent Kira from acquiring her name, as indicated on their main website, and as demonstrated on your video."

'_That's some peripheral vision, L._' Light turned to watch the soundless live feed from the Spiral Café's surveillance video. As was expected, a small riot had broken out within the building; the police had contained the supports and protesters within the cafeteria area, where objects were being thrown from all sides, people were engaged in punching matches, and glass tables were being upturned. ECKT members were easily distinct from the rest of the group by their trademark masquerade masks (costume accessories, worn during some kind of traditional European dance ceremony); an odd choice of symbol, indeed, but Light was sure they had attributed some esoterically bizarre significance to the act which made it seem adequately profound.

'_Even with this evidence, we cannot jump to conclusions prematurely._', Ryuuzaki thought. '_If she wanted to simply murder members of law enforcement to garner attention, she would have made her intentions known a long time ago. No, this woman is simply linked to the second Kira...the question is how._'

All the while, Ryuuzaki had been examining recent video from all security cameras in the cemetery, and managed to acquire a full-color screenshot of the person he was looking for. It turns out a shorter woman with bobbed black hair had been looking out upon the scene from behind the base of a tree: blue eyes behind dark-framed glasses, black schoolgirl's uniform, red tie.

Identical to the first incident at the Sakura Television station, Ryuuzaki knew the second Kira was much too foolish to keep distance from the scene, even if he--rather _she_--had the upper hand.

Now he had his proof.

-

"She's been under interrogation for nearly six hours."

"This is of no consequence."

"There's no evidence of her having any ties to Kira."

"Her criminal profile shows multiple charges of drug possession. Any of her actions at this moment in time may fall into the possibility of Kira's control before death; Kotetsu-san could have been and still could be acting under the influence of Kira. The question is what was being accomplished..."

"This is a waste of time and effort, Ryuuzaki! You're holding a woman in interrogation for something we have absolutely no physical evidence of!"

"If Kotetsu Toshiba was being controlled by Kira, that means they must have had an interaction with Kira at one point in time. We will keep her in custody, Aizawa-san. My decision is final."

-

A sleight of the hand and a long-sleeved shirt was all it took to slip the woman's bookmark into his possession.

Much to the uneasy reluctance of Aizawa, forensic analysis of Toshiba's possessions became his sole responsibility. Needless to say, it turned out the woman's 'manifesto' was completely blank inside, raising Ryuuzaki's suspicions of her guilt even further; thankfully enough, Light seemed to be the first and only to consider a blank journal having a bookmark anything of importance.

It was dark by the time Light left the hotel. He waited until he was halfway home before he took out the slip of blank white line-paper from his pocket, the piece which had been folded into a tiny square and affixed to the back of the equally-blank white bookmark within Toshiba's journal.

"Hyuk hyuk...whatcha got there, Light?"

Light remained silent as Ryuuk lowered his flight to hover over his shoulder. Instead, he unfolded the paper to reveal a small letter with even smaller writing.

_If you are reading this, you hold the key to finding me in your hands, and you will see me before I see you. I will be at Chichibunomiya Stadium on May 30th. Please trust me, Kira-san! I have no intention of harming you, or killing you, or anything! I just want to meet you; I can help you in any way you want me to!_

May 30th. Chichibunomiya Stadium was an open arena located in the Aoyama district; to make matters even better, it would probably be hosting a Super Powers Cup game that day, making it an adequately crowded location. If what Light held in his hands really was what he believed it to be, the message was correct in predicting he would find the follower long before they ever discovered his location.

This move was stupidly risky. What if the team hadn't brought the journal to the hotel first? What if someone else had touched the back of the bookmark before he did?

"Looks like this fan of yours is dying to meet you.", laughed Ryuuk. "What are you planning to do about him, Light?"

"He went through a lot of trouble to get into contact with me.", he replied. "I could easily get rid of this impostor as soon as I found him."

"But you're not going to do that, are you?"

He smirked. "How long have you known me, Ryuuk?"

Light reached his front porch and opened the door.

"I'm home."

"Welcome home, sweetheart.", his mother greeted with a smile, already waiting for him by the door. "How was your day at school?"

"Same old."

Out the corner of his eye, Light could spot Sayu splayed out on the couch, reading from one of her magazines.

"Hey, nii-san!", she called. "You got a package in the mail today!"

_I'm not expecting a package._ "Is that so? They're probably the schoolbooks I ordered last week. It's about time they arrived."

"You're allowed to shop online and use it to _buy books_?", Sayu pouted. "What a waste..."

"Now, Sayu, what your brother does with his money is his business." Sachiko turned back to face her son. "I put the box on your desk. I also picked up some apples for you this morning because I know how quickly you've been going through them lately."

Somewhere in the background, a Shinigami rejoices.

"Thank you.", Light said shortly, climbing the stairs to his bedroom. "I'll be studying tonight, so please don't bother me."

"Of course, Light. If you need anything, just let me know."

Light passed the small scrap of paper lying on the floor outside of his bedroom, entering through the ajar door and locking it behind him. As Ryuuk occupied himself with the basket of apples on the bed, Light took a seat at his desk, staring at the brown box sitting on the table in front of him. It was of an average size, bearing a return address from some company he'd never even heard of. He debates with himself about whether or not he should open it, but soon calms the suspicions raised by his paranoia, realizing he wasn't yet powerful enough in this world to worry about tainted mail.

He drags the tape from the cardboard.

There were several manila folders contained within the box. Each of them contained a single eight-by-eleven photo of some kind of doll nailed to a wall near the closed door of a balcony; the giant initials of _N.P._ were painted in what appeared to be blood on the other wall. The backs of the photos themselves had the time and dates messily scrawled upon them, with the location of _Los Angeles_ placed under that.

At first, Light thinks it to be a joke.

After a few more minutes of doubt, he reaches for his computer, logging onto the police database using his father's screenname and searching up a list of Los Angeles murders committed during the time frame indicated on the photos; surprisingly enough, there were nine.

Light wondered if this was really worth the trouble. A glance at the clock told him he should have been starting his daily round of name-gathering before heading to bed.

A mental shrug, and he continued.

Four of the murders had been performed outdoors, so none of them could have been the case in the pictures; this left five more cases to look through.

The first victim's name was Nancy Petrovski (initials, _N.P._), but hers had been a drowning. This meant none of the victim's blood had let loose, so there was none for the amateur photographer to write on the wall with.

The second and third were done together in a car before they'd left their garage. The fourth, a victim of arson; the fifth, a stabbing, and the victim had initials of _N.P_. Nathan Parker, violently murdered while sleeping in his apartment building. Light believed this might have been the case he was meant to discover, until he read the victim had been killed on the second floor: not nearly as high up as the pictures' balcony view led him to believe.

Light leaned back in his chair. What was this? Why had this person, who was more than likely the murderer himself, gone through the process of contacting him? Was this all an elaborate hoax? Was this some kind of test from Ryuuzaki?

He clicked back on Nancy Petrovski's murder to read further into the file. She had lived on the fourteenth floor in room 1416. Door was locked upon initial entry. Murdered by drowning in the bathtub. No signs of theft of property or sexual assault.

_Body mutilated post-mortem._

Intrigued, he scanned through the crime scene photos.

She was kneeling in a pool of her own blood, fully clothed, hands tied behind her back and her wrists slit. Her head was submersed in a bathtub filled with just enough water to reach the top, including the displacement which occurred with the victim's head submerged; a drop more would have probably made it overflow. The angle of the photo revealed the view from the balcony in the background, identical to those shown in the package sent to him.

And yet, there were neither pinned dolls nor bloody letters on the nearby walls of the crime scene.

Light looked back at the photographs he was sent.

The murderer created the message of the doll and the initials of _N.P._ on the wall, captured his own pictures of the scene, and then had _taken the messages down_.

But why?

This murderer resided in Los Angeles; Yagami Light, in Japan. What importance was this single murder or this single murderer to Light? Perhaps the package was mislabeled and instead meant to be sent to his father; a mindless tease for an unsolved crime would be better off dealt with by the Police Chief of the NPA.

His expression fell into concern.

No, the murderer made sure Yagami Light and _only_ Yagami Light witnessed these clues; this package was obviously meant for him and him alone. But what was he trying to tell him? What was it this murderer wanted him to see?

Light had already thought about the initials, but the voodoo doll must have been of some importance or else it would not have made an appearance.

Familiarity with the symbol had made him forget it was a doll of Japanese origin: a _Japanese_ doll in an _American_ apartment.

Now he was certain this message was for him.

Light folded his hands behind his head and sighed, quietly.

This was going to be a long night.

-


	6. Games

-

Chapter Six: Games

**A/N:** Can you believe it has already been more than a year since I started this story? Yeah, I didn't remember either. Pffhaha.

I--I

Tanaka Yoshimi began attending university in northern Japan the moment she had turned eighteen, using her high marks to acquire permissions for spare credit and extra courses, and subsequently graduating nearly a year and a half earlier than the rest of her forensics class. Six months before the end of her education, she applied for an internship within the forensic division of Japan's National Police Agency; it was the job waiting for her as soon as she stepped foot out of school.

Ryuuzaki tossed another sugar cube into his mouth, visually wading through the profile splayed across the monitor before him as Watari carried over a large tea tray.

"Tanaka-san is the youngest of three children.", Ryuuzaki thought aloud. "One of her older brothers died of an undiagnosed medical condition when he was thirteen, the other died of a heart attack while in prison as a victim of Kira. Her father was a prominent investor from Montreal; he divorced his wife six years ago and died four years later, in a car accident while driving under the influence."

"Most unfortunate luck.", Watari said shortly.

"Tanaka-san has had negative experiences with the male figures in her life. I wonder if this was the reason for her career choice; perhaps she was filling some kind of void, assuming a non-traditional gender role..."

The older man set out a few small plates of pastries in front of the detective. "May I point out that you did not assess the current members' personal lives so critically?"

"These factors are more important when it comes to the female psyche.", he defended. "I'm performing an analysis to decipher if said factors could potentially interfere with the current investigation."

"You have only delved this deeply into the personal life of an associate on one previous occasion, Ryuuzaki.", Watari observed, pressing a cloth against the bottom of the teapot and refilling the empty cup sitting on the desk. "Perhaps this is not an analysis, but a comparison to another female colleague you've worked with in the past?"

Ryuuzaki paused. He closed the profile screen in silence, returning to multiple windows filled with statistical correlations and bar graphs related to Kira. "This was not my intention."

Watari swept up the tray and bowed before taking his leave. "Of course not, Ryuuzaki."

-

The objects were traditionally called Wara Ningyo, Japanese voodoo dolls made of straw.

A little more time and research would reveal they had been pinned to the walls of Californian murder victims' apartments on several previous occasions. Aptly christened The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases, police reports filed within the case folder revealed that Wara Ningyo had been involved in every crime scene tied to the serial killer, listed on-screen as Beyond Birthday.

Light reached for his Death Note, flipping through the earlier pages only to find the name _Beyond Birthday_ written in plain ink of January's pages. Although the man's face was accessible from the internet, Light had a feeling the name on file wasn't real, realizing the murderer was more than likely some kind of demented sociopath who abandoned and / or destroyed all traces of his previous identity in order to assume a new, more ideal profile.

Even so, this didn't explain why Light chosen to look through the plethora of documents and photographs contained within the package, as if the murderer himself had sent them. There was no word that Beyond Birthday had escaped from prison. Why was he being singled out by a detailed copycat? More importantly, why would L go through all this unnecessary trouble to provoke action from him?

Light managed to hack his way through the database undetected, and while under the identity of his father, scanned through the endless pages of investigation details about Beyond, all written in English. Beyond enjoyed playing games and toying with the people on his trail: fabricating elaborate puzzles involving shapes and numbers, involving things that should have been there, but weren't.

Matching first letters. Anagrams. Locked doors.

Naomi Misora.

Was there a possibility this new case was as perfectly emulated?

The person who sent him these files may have suspected Light had some kind of association with Misora Naomi, and therefore constructed this setup to raise some kind of unwarranted reaction. Misora Naomi...no, this was in Japanese honorary order. If she had moved to the United States, her name would have taken the American order as it did on the case file, Naomi Misora.

Nancy Petrovski. _N.P._ Naomi Penber.

What Misora's name would have been if she carried through with the wedding.

Light immediately switched back on a side tab to view the date of the recent L.A. murder, comparing it to the personal details of the ex-F.B.I agent. The murder had taken place on May 25th.

Misora Naomi's wedding day.

If the murderer was anyone but Beyond, Light may have considered the cross a coincidence; yet, nothing related to Beyond could be credited to pure chance. This may have been an complicated ruse to frame him, but considering the worst-case scenario...

Beyond Birthday knew Light killed Naomi.

Light shivered inwardly at the conclusion. There was no logical reason for a copycat (even L) to perpetuate such an intricate, needless game to trifle with his mind and elicit some vague emotional slip-up; even so, all Light had to do was to bring this envelope to L's attention and he would immediately be cleared of all possible suspicion. Just to be on the safe side.

For good measure, Light reviewed any documents related to Beyond's case and state of mind, ensuring he had no purpose in pursuing this endeavor any further.

And there, in two lines of Beyond's fourth official psychological evaluation, was Light's newfound reason.

_Expresses claims of recurrent hallucinations; glowing numbers, a foreign dating system hovering over the heads of all human beings. Frequently mentions the phrase 'death equation' during interviews._

Beyond had the Shinigami eyes. It means he must have had a Death Note and a Shinigami himself. It means taking this to L would only end up further incriminating himself. Yet, why would he go through the obvious risk of contacting Light if he already knew who Kira was and could have just killed him? Would he really go this far for the sake of a game?

Light deleted all traces of his hacking.

Beyond Birthday was a step ahead of him.

He needed to find out how, and more importantly, why.

-


End file.
